Hungarian police and army officers oversee the distribution of food as people queue inside a migrant camp at Serbia's border with Hungary, in Horgos, Serbia, Monday, July 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

(Newser)
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A Hungarian member of the European Parliament stirred controversy Monday by suggesting that displaying pig heads on a border fence would be an efficient way to scare Muslim migrants from entering the EU-member country, the AP reports. Gyorgy Schopflin, a member of ruling Hungarian Fidesz party, made that suggestion in response to criticism of local people who have put carved root vegetable, human-face-like masks along the border, believing they would repel migrants. He said: "Human images are haram (religiously prohibited.) But agree, pig's head would deter more effectively." Muslims are barred from eating pork because pigs are considered unclean.

Over the weekend, Human Rights Watch director Andrew Stroehlein had written: "Refugees are fleeing war & torture, Hungary. Your root vegetable heads will not deter them." In a follow-up tweet, Stroehlein said: "Pig heads an ugly idea. Worse is reality of Hungary border abuses with violence against kids." In comments to Hungarian website mandiner.hu, Schopflin said that Monday that the issue was a storm in a teacup. "I did not humiliate anyone. I don't think it humiliates anyone if I say that the pig's head is haram, meaning that it is forbidden. This is certainly a statement of fact." The vegetable heads along the border with Serbia have been first reported by Hungarian media last week. There has reportedly been no effort by Hungarian police to remove them.

"Rocko wants more" --Humphrey Bogart to hostages in the movie, "Key Largo" In an over crowded world, I am pretty sure that though some people are fleeing war and torture, most of them are like Rocko. They want a "better life".